Stream plantings ‘a credit to everyone’

HELPING HANDS: Volunteers Philip Henderson, Katrina Tagg and Ruth Newton joined 25 others on Sunday to help clear weeds around native plantings on the banks of the Waikanae Stream. Picture supplied

Intermittent showers were not enough to deter a team of 25 volunteers who picked up rubbish and cleared weeds from native plantings along Waikanae Stream banks on Sunday.

Organising team member Jason Akuhata-Brown said that despite the weather, the group managed to weed over half of the planted area in two hours.

“We usually try to have three weeding sessions per year but Covid and other factors have meant that it has been many months since our last community effort down here,” Mr Akuhata-Brown said.

“One thing we noticed was how effective the native plants were at stopping litter from blowing into the awa.”

One disappointing find was greenwaste dumped on the Grey Street Bridge approach. The team intend to work on the area as it needs concentrated attention following the removal of two huge Phoenix palms.

There was a time when people were encouraged to dump greenwaste on river banks to supposedly reduce erosion. It is now known that dumping greenwaste is a great way to spread weeds that can cause major costs to farming, conservation efforts and ratepayers.

Mr Akuhata-Brown was pleased to have Amy Spence from the Tairawhiti Adventure Trust working at the session and to have support from Te Ora Hou manager Trudy Lewis, who supplied sausages and soft drinks for a barbecue to help keep the damp but enthusiastic workers fuelled.

He also acknowledged support from Judds Ltd, which takes greenwaste at no charge.

“This project has relied on not only the volunteers who turn up to our work sessions, but also to heaps of support from many local groups and businesses.

“All that effort and koha has been well worth it.

“The stream bank in 2022 is a very different place from the weedy wasteland full of some really nasty rubbish that we started working on back in 2011, and is a real credit to everyone who has contributed to this mahi.”